Striking tool

ABSTRACT

The object of the present invention is to provide an ergonomical and practical, handle-equipped universal striking tool with exchangeable tool bits for use when center-punching, driving cotter pins and nail heads and driving in clips of various kinds, i.e. for such activities where today a hammer is used for striking a separate thumb-grip held object or separate, thumb-grip held tools. The problems with the earlier known technique are a.o. inferior accessibility, tool instability, inferior view, impact injury risks and overloading of the hand, and the problems of looking after a complete tool kit. This object is achieved in accordance with the present invention by a handle (1), which at least at one end is equipped with an at least in one plane pivotably arranged driver head socket (2), to which a driver head (3) is attached, said driver head socket being pivotably and lockably arranged in said handle. Exchangeable striking tool bits (10) for different work assignments are easily fitted to said driver head, and extra tool bits are magazined in said handle.

BACKGROUND AND TECHNICAL FIELD

When working with conventional nail drivers, centre punches, mandrelsand similar tools, intended for striking with a hammer, and when nailingvarious types of cable clips etc., one is confronted with a number ofproblems:

Limited access.

The tool (or the clip, the nail etc.) can only be held in a thumb grip.

The hand blocks the view of the tool and/or the object to be driven inand precision is impaired.

The lack of view and the instability of the tool make it easy to causeimpact damage on the hand and on the object.

Stressing of hand muscles may--during prolonged work--cause occupationalinjuries.

By e.g. nail-drivers, centre-punches and other applications, each toolcan only handle a very limited range of dimensions.

Problems are encountered in equipping oneself with, and looking after, acomplete tool kit for a certain work assignment at hand, due to the manyseparate tools.

Some attempts have been made before to improve the situation. GB 2 171343 A shows a centre punch mounted in a transversal bar that can be usedas a handle for the centre punch, but the handle at the same timefunctions as a chuck wrench and is not very ergonomically shaped.

Also U.S. Pat. No. 640 696 shows a device where a centre punch or chaserpunch has been equipped with a side handle. This tool is however shapedfor one single, special purpose and solves very few of the problemslisted above.

Furthermore, through DE B 1 226 247 a hand-held tool is known, havingexchangeable tool bits attached in a fixed position at approximatelyright angles to the longitudinal axis of the handle. This device ishowever only intended for nail countersinking and is not equipped foruniversal use. Access is limited by all the nail drivers being attachedat a fixed angle relative to the handle. Furthermore, only one naildriver at a time can be in a working position, which entails many manualoperations when performing work where several sizes are needed. Finally,the device, due to it's design, can only be equipped with exchangeabletool bits having a working tip diameter that is smaller than theirhandle attachment end diameter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the problems whichhave been described in the beginning of this application and to providean ergonomical and practical, handle-equipped universal tool, intendedfor receiving hammer blows and for using when centre-punching, drivingcotter pins and nail heads, driving in nails and clips of various kinds,i. e. for all such activities where today separate thumb-grip heldtools, struck by a hammer or similar, are used.

This object has been achieved in accordance with the present inventionby a handle, being at least at one end equipped with a driver head fixedin a driver head socket, the latter being pivotably and lockablyarranged in said handle. Into said driver head, exchangeable strikingtool bits can be easily fitted, e.g. by means of threads, snap locks orsimilar.

The driver head/driver head socket assembly can pivot in at least oneplane relative to the handle and can be locked in a number of differentangular positions, all in order to achieve good accessibility, stabilityand visibility for the user when working in corners, from under, etc. Inthe embodiment example of the invention shown in the drawings, thepivoting and locking functions are achieved by means of a simple springloaded "push-and-turn" (ratchet) device with a number of fixed lockingpositions, but other solutions are of course also conceivable within thescope of the invention, e.g. based on friction locking in any angularposition through clamping, etc.

The driver head is so mounted in the driver head socket as to bereplaceable in case of excessive wear or damage. As the handle isequipped with driver heads at both ends, and equipped with magazines forat least two additional tool bits, the user can equip himself with, andeasily look after, at least four tool bits for a certain workassignment.

The number of types of tool bits can be adapted to the customer demands.Among the basic types one may easily imagine centre punches, naildrivers and mandrels of various dimensions, as well as combinedholders/nailing tools for various clips and clamps intended forfastening of different types of electrical cables, fence wires, etc.

The division of the striking tool into a handle part with an attacheddriver head, and tool bits fitted from below into the driver head,entails that the size of the working tip area of the tool bit is notlimited by the cross section area of the driver head, but can have asuitable size and shape, adapted to it's task.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT EXAMPLE OF THE INVENTION

The invention will be described below with reference to a non-limitingembodiment example depicted in the drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1-3 depict an assembled universal tool, without

attached tool bits, in plan view, side view, and end view, respectively;

FIG. 4 is a cross section through a tool handle with tool bit magazinestaken along line A--A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross section through a handle and a driver head socketarranged at one end of said handle taken along line B--B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section through a handle and a driver headsocket taken along line C--C in FIG. 3, placed at right angles tosection B--B and through the toothed wheel rim of the driver headsocket;

FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment example of a driver head socket, a driverhead and a tool bit, all shown in an exploded side view;

FIGS. 8-10 depict a perspective view of a complete universal tool andperspective views from two directions of a tool handle half,respectively.

The embodiment example shown in the figures in order to describe thedevice according to the invention, comprises two driver head sockets 2,which in the described embodiment are assembled at each end of a handle1, said handle in turn consisting of two identical handle halves 17. Inthe example, the handle halves are joined together by screws and nutslocated in therefore intended holes 18. Other joining methods may ofcourse be foreseen, such as e.g. snap locks based on the elasticity ofthe material from which the handle halves are made.

The driver head socket 2, see FIG. 2, is moulded in one piece from e.g.a suitable plastic material, and one end of it is shaped as acylindrical push-and-turn knob 4, also functioning as an axle neck.Inwards from said knob are in turn located a clearance groove 5 and atoothed wheel rim 6. The centre portion of the driver head socket is anequally cylindrical driver head housing 12 with a fastening device, inthe present example designed as a diametral hole with a thread, 13, forattachment of a driver head, 3. On the other side of the driver headhousing there is a second axle neck 21, internally shaped like a springhousing 8.

Said axle neck 21, with it's spring housing 8 and a coil spring 9located therein, is pivotably and axially displaceably lodged in an axleneck recess 25 at one end of one of the handle halves 17, whereby saiddriver head housing 12 fits into a cylindrical recess 20, concentricallylocated around the axle neck recess 25. The cylindrical push-and-turnknob/axle neck 4 is in a corresponding manner lodged in a cylindricalhole 19 in the corresponding end of the other handle half 17, wherebysaid knob 4 lies outside of a sparsely toothed washer 7, moulded intothis end of said handle half 17, and being in engagement with thetoothed wheel rim 6 of the driver head socket 2, due to the force of thespring 9. See FIG. 1, sections B--B and C--C. The driver head socket 2is in this way locked against pivoting relative to the handle 1, thusgiving the driver head 3, which is fitted in the driver head socket, asecurely fixed position. Said driver head can thus be simply andsecurely held by the handle 1, with it's exchangeable tool bit 10against the work piece, while a hammer is used for striking it's impactarea 23. Other embodiments of the details of this pivoting lock deviceare of course conceivable within the scope of this invention, thus thetoothed washer may be replaced by teeth moulded directly into the handlehalf, and an entirely different, stepless locking device is alsoconceivable, based upon friction clamping between the handle halves 17and the driver head socket 2. Such a solution is especially suitable ifa striker head pivoting in more than one plane relative to the handle,is wanted.

If a finger is used to push axially on the knob 4, the whole strikerhead socket 2, with the attached striker head 3 and tool bit 10, isdisplaced axially, whereby the spring 9 is compressed and the axle neck21 will reach the bottom of the recess 25. The clearance groove willhereby be aligned with the sparsely toothed washer 7, whereby thelocking between the handle 1 and the striker head socket 2 is freed andsaid socket can now be turned to a new position relative to the handle.When the approximate wanted position is reached, the pressure on theknob 4 is released while continuing to turn the striker head socket 2 ineither direction, whereby the force from the spring 9 will snap thetoothed wheel rim 6 into the first available tooth gap of the toothedwasher 7, thus locking the driver head socket 2 with the driver head 3and the exchangeable tool bit 10 in a wanted new working positionrelative to the handle 1.

The two handle halves 17 are in the present embodiment examplecompletely identical in shape. This entails that when two handle halvesare turned against each other during assembly, two identical mountinglocations, each for one driver head socket, are created, one at each endof the handle 1.

Each handle half 17 has in it's centre portion a recess, a so called bitmagazine 11, in which tool bits 10 not presently in use may be placedand held by a holding device 22, in the shown embodiment exampledesigned as relatively supple, elastic tabs made from a plasticmaterial, past which a tool bit may be pushed by finger force but notpass by it's own weight. Every universal tool according to the inventioncan thus hold up to four tool bits 10; two in the bit magazines 11 andtwo fitted into the driver heads 3, which makes it easy for the user tobring along and look after several tools for a work assignment demandingmore than one striking tool.

The tool bits 10 used when working with the present device can have ashape completely adapted to their use and are completely independent ofthe dimensions of the driver head 3, except for the attachment portion16 which must fit into the corresponding device 15 of said driver head.In the shown embodiment example, the tool bit 10 is equipped with anexternally threaded stud 16 which can be screwed tight into acorresponding, internally threaded hole 15 in the driver head 3. Otherattachment devices are of course conceivable within the scope of thisinvention, e.g. based on snap-locking or friction.

In summary, the device according to the present invention provides auniversally applicable, handle-equipped striking tool, by which thedriver head can be aimed, and comfortably and safely held, in amultitude of directions for good accessibility and visibility during thework, said tool being able to hold tool bits being adapted to andspecially designed for a multitude of varying work assignments of thestriking/driving type, alone or in combination with holding the objectthat is being driven in by means of e.g. a hammer via said driver headand tool bit.

We claim:
 1. A device, for holding and aligning an impact tool subjectedto impact forces in a longitudinal axial direction, comprising:twoidentically shaped elongate handle halves (17); each said handle half(17) having: a driver head socket (2) pivotally mounted to one endthereof, for pivotal motion in at least one plane, and a driver head(3), mounted in the driver head socket (2), for selectively pivotallymounting a desired impact tool bit (10) to said handle; said handlehalves (17) being mounted together, with one of the handle halves (17)turned 180 degrees relative to the other of the handle halves (17)forming an elongate handle (1) having a said driver head socket (2)located at each end thereof.
 2. A device according to claim 1, whereinsaid driver head comprises: an impact area on a first end thereof; amounting device on a middle portion thereof, for mounting the driverhead to a corresponding said driver head socket; and an attaching deviceon a second end thereof, remote from the first end, for facilitatingattachment and removal of a desired one of a plurality of exchangeablesaid tool bits (10).
 3. A device according to claim 2, wherein each ofthe plurality of exchangeable tool bits (10) has a quick attachmentdevice (16) at one end thereof, for attaching the tool bit to theattachment device of the driver head (3), and a tooling surface (24) atthe other end thereof.
 4. A device according to claim 1, wherein the atleast one pivoting plane of each of the driver head sockets (2)coincides with a longitudinal axis of the handle (1).
 5. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein each of the driver head sockets (2)selectively lock at different angles relative to the handle (1).
 6. Adevice according to claim 1, wherein the handle (1) is equipped withmagazines (11) with retaining devices (22) for retaining the tool bits(10) in the magazine (11).
 7. A device, for holding and aligning animpact tool subjected to impact forces in a longitudinal axialdirection, comprising:a handle (17) having a driver head socket (2)pivotally mounted in a recess (19, 25) in at least one end of the handle(1) for pivotal motion in at least one plane, and a driver head (3)mounted in the driver head socket (2) for selectively pivotally mountinga desired impact tool bit (10) to said handle; wherein the driver headsocket (2) comprises first (4) and second (21) axle necks extending fromopposite sides of the driver head socket along a pivoting axis of thedriver head socket (2), the first axle neck defining a push-and-turnknob (4) having a toothed rim (6), the second axle neck (21) has anaxial recess therein defining a spring housing (8); and a spring iscompressed between a bottom surface of the spring housing (8) in thedriver head socket (2) and a bottom surface of the recess (25) in thehandle (1), for biasing the driver head socket away from the recess (25)in the handle and engaging the toothed rim (6) on the first axle neckwith corresponding teeth (7) fixedly provided on an inner peripheralsurface of the recess (25) in the handle (1), thereby to pivotally lockthe driver head socket in a desired position, the toothed rim (6) on thedriver head socket and the teeth (7) in the handle (1) are provided withaxial lengths such that, when the knob (4) is depressed inward relativeto the recess (25), in opposition to the spring, the driver head socketmoves inwardly relative the recess (25) and the toothed rim (6) on thedriver head socket disengages the teeth (7) in the handle (1), such thatthe driver head socket (2) may be freely pivoted into a new desiredposition by turning the knob (4), and upon release of the knob (4) thetoothed rim (6) reengages the teeth (7), pivotally locking the driverhead socket (2) in the new desired position.
 8. A device according toclaim 7, wherein said driver head comprises: an impact area on a firstend thereof; a mounting device on a middle portion thereof, for mountingthe driver head to a corresponding said driver head socket; and anattaching device on a second end thereof, remote from the first end, forfacilitating attachment and removal of a desired one of a plurality ofexchangeable said tool bits (10).
 9. A device according to claim 8,wherein each of the plurality of exchangeable tool bits (10) has a quickattachment device (16) at one end thereof, for attaching the tool bit tothe attachment device of the driver head (3), and a tooling surface (24)at the other end thereof.
 10. A device according to claim 7, wherein theat least one pivoting plane of each of the driver head sockets (2)coincides with a longitudinal axis of the handle (1).
 11. A deviceaccording to claim 7, wherein the handle (1) is equipped with magazines(11) with retaining devices (22) for retaining the tool bits (10) in themagazine (11).